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Power tank question

brrttpaul

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Coastliner

Coastliner

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I would suggest then that you go for the largest battery you can manage.a while ago some of the members were fitting it all into cool boxes. They are shower proof to rain (if you get the right one). You can get a 20 to 30 amp hour battery into a reasonable sized box.

I've seen others fitted into the wheeled toolboxes made by Stanley and sold in B&Q. Easier to lug the heavy battery around.

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brrttpaul

brrttpaul

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Thank you very much for the offer Bill it is very kind of you, I will have a go myself first and when it all goes belly up I,ll give you a shout lol, (think of road runner when he gets his ACME parcels delivered and thats me lol)

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Tommohawk

Tommohawk

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Just to throw something else into the mix!

If you want to run a laptop you may need ~19V. I wondered about maybe using 3x 6V batteries in series. Then you have 6V, 12V and 18V all at your disposal without any fancy electronics at all. 

Even if you only really need 12V, having 2x 6V batteries gives you 6V and 12V. I often plug heaters into different voltage as simple way of regulating the heat. 

Anyone else tried this approach?

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brrttpaul

brrttpaul

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Just bought the leisure battery in Halfords £59 special offer, it is 12v 70ah so now I am looking at buying all the bits and bobs ( there was a box for the battery with two cigarette sockets built in but £79  seemed very expensive, so next step is the box, seen one on amazon that looks ok £20. The cigarrette sockets I have been looking at this one seems ok http://www.amazon.co.uk/JINTO-Waterproof-Motorcycle-Cigarette-Connector/dp/B00O7K44ZG/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1433597514&sr=8-9&keywords=12v+cigarette+lighter+socket. and then from there just some terminals I think. Still stuck on the lead though, at the moment the lead running from the mount goes to a small black box and then another lead (old kettle type connector) runs from there to to my mains. When I buy the lead is it still ment to go in the little black box? if anyone can send me a link of what type of lead I need its much appreciated

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knobby

knobby

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I currently run my SLT mount direct from Lucas AGM batteries out of my grannys mobility scooter - I have a 12v car socket wired to the terminals and just use a springy 12v car socket cable to connect to the mount. The battery sits on the tripod tray, so nice short cable to not trip over. It runs for hours, no problems. I just rotate in a charged one next session while the other is topped up.

I expect you will need more capacity to accomodate the laptop, but same principle.

Does she know
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Skipper Billy

Skipper Billy

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The lead you need for the mount will need a 5.5mm x 2.1mm plug at one end and fag lighter plug at the other and a couple of meters of suitable wire - the lead you are referring to is the mains transformer - its no use at all with 12v.

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Skipper Billy

Skipper Billy

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PS check your existing mounts power supply - the plug that goes into the mount will almost certainly be centre pin positive and the outer negative - but WORTH CHECKING !!!

Then wire up the new 12v lead so its the same.

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Physopto

Physopto

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Be very careful with of some of these ready made leads. The wire looks OK on some, but it can be all insulation with thin wires inside. Some of the so called 10 amp sockets with wires are only intended for very short times with the current passing. i.e. time for it to heat up a cigarette lighter in the car. Check the lead sizes carefully. If in doubt fit heavier duty wire. I don't use cigarette type plugs, as I think they are not man enough, but that is a personal choice. I find that they can pop out without warning just  when you don't want, i.e. just as you have set up and then loose the positioning in the handset. Many do use them without problems though. The 10 amp one looked OK at a glance.

Good luck with your efforts,

Derek

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Skipper Billy

Skipper Billy

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The web ad you linked to doesn't give much away about current capacity - its says UP TO 3 amps so I guess that's short burst - its continuous rating is probably 1 amp. 1.5 at best. Therefore its a weedy little cable.

I don't know what mount you will be powering or how much it will draw so I cant say it would or wouldn't be suitable but....

Weedy wires = easily broken and voltage drop - two things you really don't want in an imaging rig.

I would look for something rated at circa 10amps.  

Or make one !!!  The mount plugs are £1, the cable is £1.90 for 2m of super flexible (even in cold temperatures) 9amp continuous wire and the fag lighter plug for a good quality marine grade is £4 - 10 mins with a soldering iron and heat shrink tubing = a professional looking, water resistant, durable, reliable lead - - fit for the purpose for £7 !!!

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Physopto

Physopto

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Damm I just ordered two of these, me with a soldering iron lol  i,ll burn my hands off lol

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NP29SNK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Go to this Web site and have a good read. The Din plugs and sockets are specially designed for current carrying. Far better than the UK type cigarette plug and sockets.

http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/procar_adaptors.htm

Derek

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A-N-Y

A-N-Y

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Just few quick thoughts:

  • I have never done this before, but why not buy the needed male plug for the mount and use a descent cable wired directly to the battery through an on/off switch. Therefore, you don't need to worry about the quality of the cigarette lighter plug\outlet but you have the dangling cable that have to be stored in the battery box.
  • An AC battery charger is an option, to give you the luxury of charging the battery indoors via an AC source, but they are a little bit pricey. Therefore, if you don't want to buy it, you would need a jumper cable (which you may already have) and a voltmeter (or a multimeter) to know when the battery is fully charged (~12.6 volts), or even an indicator of how much is left (to know when to charge again).
  • In the future you could buy your self a power inverter, if you really need it for other devices, and install it within the box. Their are two main types of power inverters, one would produce a sine wave, and the other one would give you a modified sine wave. The later one is cheaper due to its less complex design, but do not suites all devices. And regarding efficiency, the process of converting DC to AC would consume power by it self, if the expansive inverter (for a pure sine wave) is used, it would usually consume ~20% more power, and if the cheaper one was used the wasted power is more. (e.g. if a plugged in device needs 100 watts then the real drained power is 120 watts or more)

And good luck

ANY

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brrttpaul

brrttpaul

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I have got it all sorted its just the lead from the cigarette socket to the mount and one for the laptop, I cant find one anywhere except at 3amps doing my nut in. All I want is the name of the dam thing or a link to the specific item so many out there minefield

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brrttpaul

brrttpaul

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Thanks guys and for the offer I just wanted to have a go myself  If I fail then I will be pming you my address and what I need ( should be pming round about wednesday lol). Basically a two metre lead I would have thought withthe cigarette plug one end and the mount type lead the other as for amps no idea lol

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Blazar

Blazar

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Or just buy one from FLO....

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-cables-leads-accessories/skytron-power-supply-cable-skywatcher-eq3-2-eq5-heq5-eq6-series-mounts.html

I built a power box earlier in the year, but decided to get rid of the cig lighters to XLR plugs. I posted up the build in the threads a while back, if you wanted to see a wiring diagram I did then let me know. I now also have twin USB added to it as well to power a Quark HA eyepiece, all the dew heaters, mount etc.

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Physopto

Physopto

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XLR are good plugs I use them where possible. If you want a better more shower proof connection with higher current capability you can use Speakon plugs and sockets. They are used in the music industry and are really tough. They are also not that expensive. They are larger than XLR though. Easier to handle in the dark and cold!

Derek

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